Audix D6 Cardioid Dynamic Kick Drum Microphone Reviews

I've been using a late 1990's-era Sennheiser e602 since I bought it all those years ago and have owned a few other kick mics, heard many others playing live shows and have been to other studios and used theirs. I've sold anything else I bought for kick drums except for these two. I'm not sure which I like more -- my old e602 or my new Audix D6, but I'm certain I can get the job done with either mic and they're both rated near the top of the heap in most shootouts I've seen. Having these two mics, I'm currently not wanting for any new kick drum recording equipment. I plug them straight into whatever mixer I have (a Presonus Studio Live 32 the last few years) and both mics always sound great. Drummers bring their mics sometimes but always decide mine sound better. I don't pine for any special preamps or compressors. I typically just use EQ and some light compression via plugins on playback.

I bought this mic for my 18" floor tom. Great mic. Have a whole set of Audix mics on my kit. They are tough durable and sound great.
Mitch Delgado

We use the Audix D6 in conjunction with a sub kick and it gives us an irresistible beat on the dance floor.
For small gigs, we use a pair of Mackie RM450s on poles for vocals and I'll feed a slight bit of kick to it, minus the sub kick.
The mic doesn't seem to need much in the way of eq.
Locking Up Otis is quite happy with the results.

You can debate the merits of many bass drum mics out there. Lot's of variables come into play and everyone has their opinions and experiences. If I were to taker all of the options on the market and try them on any of my specific bass drums/Floor Toms; would this reign supreme? I don't know.

Why am I rating it 5 stars? Simple! While I cannot definitively say that this would be the absolute best sounding mic for brand X bass drum with these specific heads tuned this certain way what I DO know is that these are going to sound great on any bass drum or floor tom. Trued and true.

Plus they are American made, highly reliable and rugged.

There are mics out there that are better suited for reproducing the character of the wood in your bass drum, or menacing a specific band of frequencies or whatever. But, if you are looking for a mic to put in a big drum and easily get a BIG sound... look no further and rock the house.

OUTSTANDING DRUM MIC

Shout out to Richie for recommending the Audix D6, This little mic does everything he said it would! Plenty of low end to capture from your kick drum,Floor tom or gong drum!

Excellent sound

I have purchased drum kits and a lot of accessories from Sweetwater they are awesome the way they do their financing I could not accomplish what I'm attempting to do and they made it available and they are so on top of things they keep in touch with you they call you out of the blue and I can't say enough good about them they are very organized and every musician's Friend it does seem that way believe me

Plug in play type of mic with a little to no eq to it. I love it

I got it for my home studio . We also have the same at my Church. Love the sound. It gives a nice punch and great definition. I used to have a cheap CAD kick drum mic. Glad I upgraded

Glad I was finally able to pick this mic up. Finally getting the kick sound I was looking for!

It is a fantastic kick mic. I took out the box hooked it up and never had to mess with anything and it sounds great.

This is the perfect mic for kick drum. I like the flavor it gives but I especially love its eq curve. It captures tons of low end. It"s pre scooped in the mids. Has a nice focused ounch to it. It sometimes needs some top. Like 9-10k

Excellent mic! Worth the money

Best everyday mic for your kick drum... Easy to dial in... Durable with excellent sound and performance.. I own 2....

Love the sound on a kick drum!

This mic sounds great right out of the box on my bass drum. With very little adjustments you can have an awesome bass drum sound.

Let me first say that everyone has a different view, and each microphone is unique. If you are like me, and like a serious punch with your kick drum, then this is your best bet. This microphone is fantastic. It is tailored to low frequency sources as I am sure you have read. I tested this microphone side-by-side the Beta52 and the D112, and while each of those are great mics, the D6 really stood out as the punchiest/beefiest of the three. I will never use another microphone to mic the inside of my kick.

Additionally, this mic excels with 16+" floor toms, as well as bass cabinets. I do not frequently mic bass cabs, but when I do I know that this will give me the most consistent sound, and one that will fit very well into the mix with little editing. Overall I suggest this mic to anyone tracking low frequency sources like Kick, floor tom, and bass cabinets. It will give you a great sound live or in the studio.

Thanks, and keep rockin!

This is an amazing kick mic. I have used it hem for about 10 years now and I don't like any other kick mic. Audix makes the best mics.

This mic is perfect for kick in mic. It captures the snap of the beater better than anything i have ever used. The nasty muddy stuff is scooped out already and in my experience needs very little eq most of the time. I'm using it for recording in a home studio environment. It has become my go to for two miking kick drum - it being the kick in mic.

I've been a D12E user for years and years, in fact, I still have one and use it regularly. However, after reading so many great review about the D6 I decided to give it a try. What a great, modern sounding mic! One look at the frequency response of this mic will tell you all you need to know about it. It has the frequency scoop built in, so not much eq needs to be added or subtracted at the channel strip. The sound is modern and crisp, perfect for rock, metal and other heaver/punchier styles...and great for recording! The construction is compact and solid and the fit and finish are perfect. Between you and me, the secret for the ultimate kick sound is to throw the D6 inside (closer to the batter for more click) and stick a speaker mic or SubKick out in front and blend to taste. That's our little secret...please don't tell anyone ;)

I love this mic so much I can't stand it. I own a D112, 421s, worked with RE-20s and Beta52s - this mic is both the punchiest and most neutral of all bass freq dynamics and it's cheap and built like a tank. It's the best on kick and bass amps but also by FAR the best floor tom mic I've used. Way better than a 421

I used this mic for the first time at an outdoor winery gig. I have a 24" bass drum that already has a big sound, the D6 makes it sound huge! Nice tight sound ..the other guys in band loved it. Place it where you want and it sounds good , inside close to batter for more attack or partially inside for more bottom, its all good. I highly recommend this mic!

My kick drums always end up with a predictable eq curve no matter what song I'm doing. It's one of the most consistent practices. Cutting the low mids eliminates the cardboard box sound. This carves out the necessary curve without adding phase altering eq. If you need something less hyped, you can always eq a little. The directionality, durability and overall design leaves nothing to be desired. Sounds great on floor toms too. What can Is say? This mic is good to go for the applications it was intended for.

This is a great microphone. I don't find the mic to be too clicky as some mentioned. It makes all sorts of bassdrums sound more similar to each other then other mics.. and that tone is big (but not slow!), punchy, never muddy, can be turned up quite loud in the mix, and requires minimal processing if at all (with a good drummer not even compression is required).. there's no other mic I can say the same for - Be it EV 868, Beta52, D112.. In all these I always go to the 250-350Hz area to clean, push some highs to make it sound more alive, add some 50-55Hz..

I can now start my sound checks from channel 2 :-)

I have used the AKG D 112 for recording my kick drum the past 3 years and liked it until it stopped working. I read a lot of reviews on the Audix D6 and wanted to give it a try. I must say that the D6 has more punch and a tighter tone that the D 112. I would buy the D6 over the AKG any day and hope that it lasts longer than it did.

This mic has a tight low end and a definitive snap. Cuts through the mix the second you pull up the fader!

For jazz it's a little aggressive (if you are even bothering to mic the kick, I prefer a Beta 52 - more "round") - but if it's rock, pop, or R&B this is the mic.

Also does a good job giving upright bass some bite too.

I did not know much about Audix when I gave the D6 a shot in the studio for kick drum. Until that time, I had only used Beta 52s and settled for the fact that they were pretty standard in the industry. The first few kicks with the D6 blew me away--and with no EQ. The punch and the thump, perfectly balanced, so clean. We used it for live worship at my church as soon as we could after that session, and it made just as big of a difference live. If you are more fond of a round/mid sound for your kick drums, you may not like the D6. However, if you want clean punch, get it!

Speaking for the a cappella nerds out there, I'd like to add that this mic is probably the best live vocal percussion (beatbox) mic on the market (it's only other major competition is the Shure Beta 58). It's frequency response is very well-suited for bringing out the bass of the lower frequencies, while still giving you plenty of attack. Plus, the scooped mids make things like snare noises sound really warm and unobtrusive. And it's tough to beat the price tag.

There is something to be said for picking the right tool for the job. We finally decided on the Audix D6 after looking around a a few others. When it came to mixing we were blown away. Our kick tracks which had always needed a few plugins worth of post processing was solid right off the bat.

I can't speak to its competitors but I can say that if you are looking to rock, punk or metal this is a solid choice. I am looking forward to seeing how it handles some of our other clients.

You won't go wrong with this one.

Switched from akg tom mics to Audix D2 and D4. Bought the D6 to work with my Shure b91. It is a killer combo!

I've recently started mixing for TV and I was looking for a kick mic with a lot of attack but still warm/gentle.

It sounded great right out of the box with the same drum kit and same drummer. Exactly what I hoped for

Maybe I also got tired of listening to the Beta 52a.

Looking foward to trying it on a big PA.

Amazing microphone, great attack and punch, captures a nice warm tone with great attack, a must have for any studio! And i tend to be picky with my drum sound since i am a drummer!

This mic will give you that earth-shaking, rumbling kick drum sound. It can take huge amounts of SPL and still not distort. I put it about 4 inches away from the beater head of the kick drum and even closer to give it more "click." Perfect for any style of music and amazing for metal drums. try it on a bass guitar too! The mic even feels like it can take a nuclear bomb and still work, its a solid block of aluminum! worth every penny, you will not be disappointed when you try it out!

I just opened the box, threw mic by the kick without any concern for placement, recorded a short drum beat, and was blown away when I cam back into the control room to hear it. With pretty much zero effort, I had this huge, thunderously bassy kick sound. Easily the best kick mic I've ever heard.

If I had one mic, that would be it. Combine with a sub-kick or internal 602 or 91. OMG!

I play bass in a metal band and most guys now are using triggers, but the D6 gives you the sound metal bands are looking for, yea it's a bit clicky for other types of music but can get the job done.

I was told I need this mic. Prior to purchasing I had 4 different kick mics, now I have five. For the $ it was worth it. It gives me a popular mic to offer my clients but I also like the ease of use. What I mean by that is many kick mics are either dialed in sounding or open sounding. A dialed in mic will have it's own characteristics and may have a narrower scope of use.(like an AKG D112) An open sounding mic will operate very well for the range it was designed but the characteristics don't really frame the sound as much. This mic is kind of in the middle. You can put in front of your kick and it's pretty much all right but you can tweak it up a bit to get the punch, slap or what ever your after. Additionally it doesn't mask the natural sound of the drum. These are the key elements I'm looking for. I can say the same for putting on a floor tom. I haven't had the opportunity to use it on a bass cab or upright yet. If you're looking for a kick mic you can't go wrong.

The Audix D6 is a great kick mic, sits at about the same price range as many other devoted kick mics, and my guess would be it performs similarly well. I likely won't say anything others haven't already, so I'll keep it short.

I would personally take this mic over EVERY other mic for live use. It is built like a tank, small, and easy to make sound good. It also has a very prominent EQ built in. There is a massive boost in the ~80hz "Boom" region, a lot of scoop in the mids to get rid of muddy tennis balls, and a noticeable boost in the ~5khz range for more click. This is a god-send live where EQ and especially compression may be very limited or nonexistent, so you get a perfectly sculpted sound across the spectrum for live kick.

For the studio, I would happily use this mic for hard rock or metal, but it is a backup for many other genres. The same built-in EQ that makes it great for live music can back it into a corner for some genres that when recording require a more "classic" and less "modern" kick sound. You could certainly use it for classic blues or folk, but you may find yourself doing more EQ to lessen the scoop and click of this mic. My go to studio kick mic is an AKG-D12VR, but again, I wouldn't hesitate to use this one if that one went down.

All in all it is a great mic, just know the sound before you buy it and don't buy it if you want an extremely flat, honest mic. Also, I absolutely hated it for electric bass recording, but YMMV and I didn't buy it for that so no worries.

It's wonderful to be able to use yet another mic from Audix that doesn't require massive amounts of E Q. I'm using it currently on my resonant side of my bass drum to pick up the low end frequencies there. I don't need any gating, nor do I add any effects. I just set the level in the mix and it sounds great. I have yet to do more playing around with it but I am eager to start! Thanks Sweetwater and Audix for making it an easy choice, and an easy purchase!

Sounds great with little EQ very quickly when placed well!

Very nice for a classic punchy big round kick drum sound. Sits well in my mix with minimum adjustments.

This microphone sounds really great without any EQ. Without taking the time to find a "sweet spot" on my kick drum, the result has always come out punchy and crisp. This is my new go to mic for the kick drum. Good job Audix!

Recently got this kick and I'm loving it. Did a shootout with the a Shure Beta 52A and an AKG D112 and the Audix D6 outperformed them all.

Great with a Yamaha Subkick!

Tried this mic on upright bass on a string band (live sound) for an outdoor wedding reception. We wrapped the mic in some padding and put it under the tailpiece, aimed up toward the bridge. This mic has boosted high end, so I rolled off the highs, as we only wanted the big low end.

Bass sounded big and full, with resonance and sustain, but not boomy or thumpy. Worked great for this application.

The Audix D6 Kick Mic works perfectly for my application. I thoroughly checked out 3 mics through past usage & current testing. The were the Shure Beta 52, the AKG D112 & the Audix D6. The 3 tests came down to the Audix D6 as the best candidate because my kick mic "lives inside" the drum on a Kelly Shu. That fact made it the best choice for my kick. The sound, tone & thump are all there & then some.

First I have to say that I'm not in a band and I only do hip hop and r&b neo soul type music using Ablton, Reason and Akai MPC. In the past I only use different DI boxes or DI into an Apollo duo or a Clarett Pre. The reason I got this mic was because I love the why my Hartke HD75 amp sound and I want to try and get that sound into my recordings. So I followed the tutorial on the focusrite web site for recording bass. The sound I got by blending the DI with the D6 sound really good to my ears. It opens up more options. It also doesn't sound bad by itself. My amp has a great eq and is kinda bright or hifi sounding so something like a fender rumble that is more boomy my sound a lot different with this mic. I guess I could buy a different more expensive mic to get an even better sound but DI works well and the D6 cured my curiosity I had with micking bass amps.

For the last 25+ years I have been using an EVRE 20 on my kick to great satisfaction. Well the RE's capsule finally had an issue and yes I will get it repaired. But at the same time I began to consider increasing my kick mic selection. Listened to a lot of research and talked with Brian my Sweetwater rep. He pointed me towards Audix which of course tested well in the research too. We both agreed that with those two mics I would have one-extreme-to-the-other. Did the right thing!

Position is important on any mic but this one is a little more forgiving than some. Found great sound right away just inside the resonant head pointing right at the beaters....no eq, effects or compression....the kick came alive. Closer micing of the batter head however did not produce great sound no matter how I adjusted it....no worries though...it's picking up that little punch from the beater at a distance as well as a nice round BOOM.

We have many mics in our arsenal. For kick we also have a Shure Beta52. I like the Audix much better. It is punchier and placement, while it still can be tricky, is easier. Combine this with a good condensor room mic placed correctly and you have a great setup!

Did some live recordings with the DP5a kit. I will say that the low end on this mic is fantastic but i wouldnt use this as a primary if you have a dynamic kick performance. The Low end is huge but not tight enough for a live situation. sounds best on the inside of a kick with a rock drummer; put it on the outside and youlll need to pair it with something else on the in. bottom line, it needs mids unless you like kicks with no tone.

i've tried using the d-6 with not much success. it just sounds too much like heavy metal--hard on the beater sound. instead, i've been using the d-4 which sounds more natural.

I"ve been a gigging drummer for many years, mainly in a 3 piece rock n roll band. To mic my 20 inch -kick I have tried a few kick mics - from cheap Sound Kings through AKG D112s and Shure B52s to the Beyer M88. The Audix D6 is the most hassle-free (in terms of positioning, EQing, gain width and overall sound)I have used - period.

Well, I have to say that I am pretty happy to own the D-6. Audix has slowly been winning me over, but I was still pretty apprehesive to just buy a mic without testing it first. A close friend had used them quite a bit, and recommended them over other similar mics. It's everything I had hoped sonically, but the most impresive thing to me is the clip! I love the locking wheel, instead of the typical friction style clips. Go Audix, and I hope other manufacturers take a cue from this.

This audix d6 mic is great on a kickdrum, but it also adds a exhilaratingly pulsating punch to a floor tom.

This audix d6 mic is great on a kickdrum, but it also adds a exhilaratingly pulsating punch to a floor tom.